B. Michael and Mark Anthony Edwards Support Program for 500 Paid Internship Opportunities

Fashion Designer B Michael and Mark-Anthony Edwards, CEO of b michael AMERICA, participate in a new city program aimed at creating 500 paid internship opportunities for high school and undergraduate college students for summer 2016.

First Lady Chirlane McCray, the Mayor?s Fund to Advance New York City and leaders from real estate, hospitality, business services, media and entertainment, and fashion industries are supporting the effort to provide unique work experiences for young people and build a pipeline of talent for companies that is homegrown and diverse.

The partnerships will bring together industry stakeholders, including companies, trade associations and related City agencies, in unprecedented collaboration with the NYC Center for Youth Employment, a Mayor?s Fund initiative that is dedicated to increasing and improving New York City?s youth employment services.

The goal of the partnerships is to address private sector workforce needs, starting first with creating quality internship experiences and opening a dialogue on the employee skills valued by each sector.

So far, the Mayor?s Fund has signed on 126 companies in every borough and of all sizes to either host 500 students in paid, specialized internships this summer or sponsor those opportunities.?The 500 students who will participate in the internships will be selected from the NYC Ladders for Leaders program, a program administered by the NYC Department for Youth and Community Development.

These opportunities will all be privately funded with the support of founding partners: Time Warner, Hearst, Discovery Communications, Pearson, CBS Corporation, Citi Foundation, JPMorgan Chase, Deloitte, RBC Capital Markets, Guardian, the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), NYC & Company, the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and the Mayor?s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME).

This announcement was made at the headquarters of founding partner Time Warner by First Lady McCray along with representatives from supporting firms.